EN BANC
G.R. No. 194402, April 05, 2016
NEPTALI S. FRANCO, MELINDA L. OCAMPO, ARTEMIO P. MAGABO, REPRESENTED HEREIN BY SOLEDAD MAGABO, BERNARDA C. LAVISORES, NICOMEDES B. DEYNATA, ALBERTO D. DOSAYLA, REPRESENTED HEREIN BY AILENE JOY BILLONES DOSAYLA AND MARIETTA U. LARRACAS, Petitioners, v. ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, THE HON. ZENAIDA G. CRUZ-DUCUT, IN HER CAPACITY AS CHAIRMAN OF THE ENERGY REGULATORY COMMISSION, DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT, THE SECRETARY FLORENCIO B. ABAD AND RICALINDA N. ADRIATICO, THE DIRECTOR OF THE BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT BUREAU-A, Respondents.
D E C I S I O N
REYES, J.:
Before this Court on Petition for Review1 is the Decision2 dated May 13, 2010 of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. SP No. 109733, an original action for mandamus under Rule 65 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, filed by retired members of the defunct Energy Regulatory Board (ERB), seeking to compel the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Zenaida G. Cruz-Ducut (Ducut), in her capacity as ERC Chairman, Department of Budget and Management (DBM), DBM Secretary Florencio B. Abad, and DBM Bureau-A Director Ricalinda N. Adriatico (Adriatico) to adjust and release their monthly retirement pensions based on the salary levels now being received by the Chairman and Members of the ERC, created by Republic Act (R.A.) No. 9136, otherwise known as the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.
Name Position Retirement Date Neptali S. Franco Chairman 07/01/98 Melinda L. Ocampo Chairperson 08/14/01 Artemio P. Magabo Member 06/16/98 Marietta U. Larracas Member 08/14/01 Nicomedes B. Deynata Member 08/14/01 Bernarda C. Lavisores Member 08/16/98 Alberto D. Dosayla Member 08/14/013
Sec. 1. Energy Regulatory Board. There is hereby created an independent Energy Regulatory Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, the nucleus of which shall be the present Board of Energy. The Board shall be composed of a Chairman and four (4) Members to be appointed by the President, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments, x x x.
x x x x
The Chairman of the Board shall receive a compensation equal to that of a Department Undersecretary while the Board Members shall each receive a compensation equal to that of an official next in rank to a Department Undersecretary.
The Chairman and the Members of the Board, upon completion of their terms or upon becoming eligible for retirement under existing laws shall be entitled to the same retirement benefits and privileges provided for the Chairman and Members of the Commission on Elections. (Emphasis ours)
Sec. 39. Compensation and Other Emoluments for ERC Personnel. - x x x.
The Chairman and members of the Commission shall initially be entitled to the same salaries, allowances and benefits as those of the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, respectively. The Chairman and the members of the Commission shall, upon completion of their term or upon becoming eligible for retirement under existing laws, be entitled to the same retirement benefits and the privileges provided for the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, respectively. (Emphasis ours)
We have carefully considered the legal arguments you presented in your letter, together with all the documents attached therewith. After a thorough analysis of the existing laws and jurisprudence on the matter, we concur with the legal opinion of the former [DOJ] Simeon A. Datumanong in his 1st Indorsement dated 17 October 2003.
In this regard, we regret to inform you that we cannot accede to your request.9
I.
WHETHER OR NOT THERE IS NO LAW GRANTING THE PETITIONERS THE RIGHT TO RETIREMENT PENSIONS EQUIVALENT TO THE PRESENT SALARIES OF THE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE ERC.II.
WHETHER OR NOT MANDAMUS IS THE APPROPRIATE REMEDY.15
Sec. 3. Petition for mandamus. - When any tribunal, corporation, board, officer or person unlawfully neglects the performance of an act which the law specifically enjoins as a duty resulting from an office, trust, or station, or unlawfully excludes another from the use and enjoyment of a right or office to which such other is entitled, and there is no other plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law, the person aggrieved thereby may file a verified petition in the proper court, alleging the facts with certainty and praying that judgment be rendered commanding the respondent, immediately or at some other time to be specified by the court, to do the act required to be done to protect the rights of the petitioner, and to pay the damages sustained by the petitioner by reason of the wrongful acts of the respondent.
Sec. 39. Compensation and Other Emoluments for ERC Personnel. -
xxx.
The Chairman and members of the Commission shall initially be entitled to the same salaries, allowances and benefits as those of the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, respectively. The Chairman and the members of the Commission shall, upon completion of their term or upon becoming eligible for retirement under existing laws, be entitled to the same retirement benefits and the privileges provided for the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, respectively.
Sec. 38. Creation of the Energy Regulatory Commission. - There is hereby created an independent, quasi-judicial regulatory body to be named the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). For this purpose, the existing Energy Regulatory Board (ERB) created under Executive Order No. 172, as amended, is hereby abolished.
x x x x
[I]f the newly created office has substantially new, different or additional functions, duties or powers, so that it may be said in fact to create an office different from the one abolished, even though it embraces all or some of the duties of the old office it will be considered as an abolition of one office and the creation of a new or different one. The same is true if one office is abolished and its duties, for reasons of economy are given to an existing officer or office.22
It must be stressed that, while the provision of R.A. No. 9136 abolishing the ERB was declared as valid by the [SC], nonetheless, it did not pronounce that the abolition had the effect of depriving and/or hindering retirees under the already-abolished law from seeking the readjustment of their retirement benefits.
Moreover, while the retirement benefits provided under E.O. No. 172 may appear to be inconsistent with those provided under R.A. No. 9136, emphasis is laid that the inconsistency relates only to what the retirement benefits shall consist of, and not to the grant or readjustment of the same per se. In other words, while the retirement benefits granted under R.A. No. 9136 are different from those under E.O. No. 172, one undisputable fact remains -R.A. No. 9136 contains no provision expressly stating that the abolition of the ERB carries with it the abolition, diminution, or curtailment of the right to seek readjustment of the retirement benefits granted under E.O. No. 172.29 (Citation omitted and emphasis in the original)
Given the above, it is manifestly clear that Section 80 of R.A. No. 9136 stating that, [T]he applicability provisions of x x x [E.O, No.] 172, as amended, creating the ERB; xxx shall continue to have full force and effect except insofar as they are inconsistent with this Act x x x [It] should be construed to mean that, since there is no express provision in RA. No. 9136 pertinent to the retirement benefits granted to retirees under E.O. No. 172, it follows then that E.O. No. 172 continues to be the controlling law on the matter. Specifically, the controlling provision respecting the retirement benefits of Chairmen and Members of the ERB is, therefore, Section 1(6) of E.O. No. 172, which states that x x x [t]he Chairman and the Members of the Board, x x x shall be entitled to the same retirement benefits and privileges provided for the Chairman and Members of the [COMELEC]. Perforce, whether or not Section 2-A of R.A. No. 1568, as amended, is applicable to the Petitioners may already be of no moment because Section 1 (6) of E. O. No. 172 already clearly and literally states that they are entitled to the same retirement benefits granted to the Chairman and Members of the COMELEC.
All said, Our position that the Petitioners are entitled to have their retirement benefits readjusted is bolstered by the final and executory decision, August 29, 2007, rendered in CA-GR SP No. 89068 by the Thirteenth Division of this Court over which We take judicial notice of, as the same involved the same issue as the one raised at bench. At this juncture, mention must also be made that, during the pendency of the said case, the ERC issued a Resolution reversing its findings that the Petitioners are not entitled to an automatic readjustment and maintaining that it totally supports their cause, as the same is meritorious.
Stress, however, is laid that the Petitioners' retirement benefits should be based on the salaries of the current COMELEC Chairman and Members, and not on the salaries of the current ERC Chairman and members.
To explicate. Section 1(6) of E.O. No. 172 clearly states that x x x [t]he Chairman and the Members of the Board, x x x shall be entitled to the same retirement benefits and privileges provided for the Chairman and Members of the [COMELEC]. Applying the horn-book doctrine that, where the words of the statute are clear, plain, and free from ambiguity, it must he given its literal meaning and applied without attempted interpretation, it is therefore beyond cavil that the retirement benefits of retired ERB Chairmen and Members shall be based on and the same as that granted to Chairman and Members of the COMELEC. In other words, it is the increase in the benefits of the current Chairman and Members of the COMELEC, not those of the ERC, which has the effect of rendering a corresponding increase in the Petitioners' retirement benefits.31 (Citations omitted and emphasis, italics and underscoring in the original)
Sec. 3. Jurisdiction, Powers and Functions of the Board. When warranted and only when public necessity requires, the Board may regulate the business of importing, exporting, re-exporting, shipping, transporting, processing, refining, marketing and distributing energy resources. Energy resource means any substance or phenomenon which by itself or in combination with others, or after processing or refining or the application to it of technology, emanates, generates or causes the emanation or generation of energy, such as but not limited to, petroleum or petroleum products, coal, marsh gas, methane gas, geothermal and hydroelectric sources of energy, uranium and other similar radioactive minerals, solar energy, tidal power, as well as non-conventional existing and potential sources.
The Board shall, upon proper notice and hearing, exercise the following, among other powers and functions:
chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary(a) Fix and regulate the prices of petroleum products;
(b) Fix and regulate the rate schedule or prices of piped gas to be charged by duly franchised gas companies which distribute gas by means of underground pipe system;
(c) Fix and regulate the rates of pipeline concessionaries under the provisions of Republic Act No. 387, as amended, otherwise known as the "Petroleum Act of 1949," as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1700;
(d) Regulate the capacities of new refineries or additional capacities of existing refineries and license refineries that may be organized after the issuance of this Executive Order, under such terms and conditions as are consistent with the national interest;
(e) Whenever the Board has determined that there is a shortage of any petroleum product, or when public interest so requires, it may take such steps as it may consider necessary, including the temporary adjustment of the levels of prices of petroleum products and the payment to the Oil Price Stabilization Fund created under Presidential Decree No. 1956 by persons or entities engaged in the petroleum industry of such amounts as may be determined by the Board, which will enable the importer to recover its cost of importation.
(a) enforce the implementing rules and regulations of R.A. No. 9136;
(b) promulgate and enforce a National Grid Code and a Distribution Code;
(c) enforce the rules and regulations governing the operations of the electricity spot market and the activities of the spot market operator and other participants in the spot market, for the purpose of ensuring a greater supply and rational pricing of electricity;
(d) establish and enforce a methodology for setting transmission and distribution wheeling rates and retail rates for the captive market of a distribution utility;
(e) review and approve any changes on the terms and conditions of service of the National Transmission Corporation (TRANSCO) or any distribution utility;
(f) monitor and take remedial measures to penalize abuse of market power, cartelization, and anti-competitive or discriminatory behavior by any electric power industry participant;
(g) impose fines or penalties for any non-compliance with or breach of R.A. No. 9136, its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) and the rules and regulations which it promulgates or administers;
(h) monitor the activities of the generation and supply of the electric power industry with the end in view of promoting free market competition and ensuring that the allocation or pass through of bulk purchase cost by distributors is transparent, non-discriminatory and that any existing subsidies shall be divided pro-rata among all retail suppliers;
(i) act on applications for or modifications of certificates of public convenience and/or necessity, licenses or permits of franchisee! electric utilities in accordance with law and revoke, review and modify such certificates, licenses or permits in appropriate cases, such as in cases of violations of the Grid Code, Distribution Code and other rules and regulations issued by the ERC in accordance with law;
(j) act on applications for cost recovery and return on demand side management projects;
(k) in the exercise of its investigative and quasi-judicial powers, act on any complaint by or against any participant or player in the energy sector for violations of any laws, rules and regulations governing the same, including the rules on cross-ownership, anti-competitive practices and other acts of abuse of market positions by any participant or player in the energy sector, as may be provided by law, and require any person or entity to submit any report or data relative to any investigation or hearing conducted in accordance with R.A. No. 9136;
(l) inspect, on its own or through duly authorized representatives, the premises, books of accounts and records of any person or entity at any time, in the exercise of its quasi-judicial power for purposes of determining the existence of any anti-competitive behavior and/or market power abuse and any violation of rules and regulations issued by the ERC;
(m) perform such other regulatory functions as are appropriate and necessary in order to ensure the successful restructuring and modernization of the electric power industry, such as, but not limited to, the rules and guidelines under which generation companies, distribution utilities which are not publicly listed shall offer and sell to the public a portion not less than 15% of their common shares of stocks; and
(n) the ERC shall have the original and exclusive jurisdiction over all cases contesting rates, fees, fines and penalties imposed by the ERC in the exercise of the abovementioned powers, functions and responsibilities and over all cases involving disputes between and among participants or players in the energy sector.
Sec. 38. x x x.
The Commission shall be composed of a Chairman and four (4) members to be appointed by the President of the Philippines. The Chairman and the members of the Commission shall be natural-born citizens and residents of the Philippines, persons of good moral character, at least thirty-five (35) years of age, and of recognized competence in any of the following fields: energy, law, economics, finance, commerce, or engineering, with at least three (3) years actual and distinguished experience in their respective fields of expertise: Provided, That out of the four (4) members of the Commission, at least one (1) shall be a member of the Philippine Bar with at least ten (10) years experience in the active practice of law, and one (1) shall be a certified public accountant with at least ten (10) years experience in active practice.
x x x x
The Chairman of the Commission, who shall be a member of the Philippine Bar shall act as the Chief Executive Officer of the Commission.
All members of the Commission shall have a term of seven (7) years xxx.
x x x x (Emphasis ours)
Sec. 1. Energy Regulatory Board. There is hereby created an independent Energy Regulatory Board, hereinafter referred to as the Board, the nucleus of which shall be present Board of Energy. The Board shall be composed of a Chairman and four (4) Members to be appointed by the President, with the consent of the Commission on Appointments. The Chairman and the Board Members shall be natural-born citizens and residents of the Philippines. In addition, the Chairman and the Board Members shall be persons of good moral character, at least thirty-five (35) years of age, and of recognized competence in the field of law, economics, finance, banking, commerce, industry, agriculture, engineering, management or labor.
The term of office of the Chairman and the Board Members shall be four (4) years x x x.
To achieve its aforestated goal, the law has reconfigured the organization of the regulatory body. It requires the Chairman and four (4) members of the ERC to be equipped with "at least three (3) years of active and distinguished experience" in the fields of energy, law, economics, finance, commerce or engineering, and at least one of them with ten (10) years or more of experience in the active practice of law and another one with similar experience as a certified public accountant. Their terms of office were increased to seven (7) years from the four (4) [years] provided in [E.O. No. 172] and their security of tenure assured. The Chairman and members were given the same salaries, allowances, benefits and retirement pay as the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the [SC], a lot higher than the salary and benefits accorded the Chairman and members of the ERB which were equivalent only to those of a Department Undersecretary and the official next in rank, and those of the Chairman and members of the [COMELEC], respectively.45 (Citations omitted)
One of the landmark pieces of legislation enacted by Congress in recent years is the [Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001]. It established a new policy, legal structure and regulatory framework for the electric power industry.
The new thrust is to tap private capital for the expansion and improvement of the industry as the large government debt and the highly capital-intensive character of the industry itself have long been acknowledged as the critical constraints to the program. To attract private investment, largely foreign, the jaded structure of the industry had to be addressed. While the generation and transmission sectors were centralized and monopolistic, the distribution side was fragmented with over 130 utilities, mostly small and uneconomic. The pervasive flaws have caused a low utilization of existing generation capacity; extremely high and uncompetitive power rates; poor quality of service to consumers; dismal to forgettable performance of the government power sector; high system losses; and an inability to develop a clear strategy for overcoming these shortcomings.
Thus, the [Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001] provides a framework for the restructuring of the industry, including the privatization of the assets of the [NPC], the transition to a competitive structure, and the delineation of the roles of various government agencies and the private entities. The law ordains the division of the industry into four (4) distinct sectors, namely: generation, transmission, distribution and supply. Corollarily, the NPC generating plants have to privatized and its transmission business spun off and privatized thereafter.
In tandem with the restructuring of the industry is the establishment of "a strong and purely independent regulatory body." Thus, the law created the ERC in place of the [ERB].
To achieve its aforestated goal, the law has reconfigured the organization of the regulatory body, x x x.47 (Citations omitted)
Section 8. No elective or appointive public officer or employee shall receive additional, double, or indirect compensation, unless specifically authorized by law, nor accept without the consent of the Congress, any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind from any foreign government.
Pensions or gratuities shall not be considered as additional, double, or indirect compensation.
Endnotes:
1Rollo, pp. 3-32.
2 Penned by Associate Justice Portia Alino-Hormachuelos, with Associate Justices Japar B. Dimaampao and Danton Q. Bueser concurring; id. at 34-44.
3 Id. at 35-36.
4 AN ACT TO PROVIDE LIFE PENSION TO THE AUDITOR GENERAL AND THE CHAIRMAN OR ANY MEMBER OF THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS. Approved on June 16 1956.
5 AN ACT TO AMEND REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED FIFTEEN HUNDRED SIXTY-EIGHT (RE: GRANT OF LIFE PENSION TO THE AUDITOR-GENERAL AND THE CHAIRMAN AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS). Approved on June 22, 1963.
6Rollo, pp. 35-37.
7 Id. at 37.
8 Id. at 93-94.
9 CA Decision in Retired Chairmen of the ERB, et al, v. The ERC and the DOJ, CA-G.R. SP No 89095, May 9, 2008, p. 5.
10Rollo, pp. 49-50.
11 Id. at 95.
12 Id. at 11-12, 95.
13 Id. at 52-53.
14 Id. at 34-44.
15 Id. at 13.
16Torregoza v. Civil Service Commission, G.R. No. 101526, July 3, 1992, 211 SCRA 230, 234, citing Marcelo v. Tantuico, Jr., 226 Phil. 360, 366 (1986).
17Henares, Jr. v. Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board, 535 Phil. 835, 841 (2006).
18Araos, et al. v. Hon. Regala, et al., 627 Phil. 13, 20 (2010).
19 553 Phil. 1 (2007).
20 Id. at 21.
21 G.R. No. 84301, April 7, 1993, 221 SCRA 145.
22 Id. at 150.
23 710 Phil. 706(2013).
24 G.R. No, 161113, June 15, 2004, 432 SCRA 157.cralawred
25 CA Decision in Castañeda, et al. v. Ermita, CA-G.R. SP No. 89068, August 29 2007 pp 6-7.
26Rollo, p, 93.cralawred
27 Id. at 97.
28 Id. at 97-98.
29 CA Decision in Retired Chairmen of the ERB, et al. v. The ERC and the DOJ, CA-G.R. SP No. 89095, May 9, 2008, p. 12.
30 Id. at 14.
31 Id. at 12-14.
32 Rollo. pp. 125-126.
33 Id. at 99.
34 Id. at 100-103.
35 Id. at 103-104.
36 453 Phil. 1043 (2003).
37 Id. at 1059.
38 154 Phil. 270(1974).
39 Id. at 277.cralawred
40 345 Phil. 9 (1997).
41 Id. at 30.
42 R.A. No. 9136, Section 3.
43 R.A. No. 9136, Section 43.
44 Supra note 24.
45 Id. at 172.
46 Supra note 19.
47Freedom from Debt Coalition v. ERC, supra note 24, at 171-172.
48 R.A. No. 6173, Section 2.
49 P.D, No. 1206, Section 2.
50 P.D. No. 1206, Section 9.
51 P.D. No. 1206, Section 7.
52 E.O. No. 172, Sections
53 P.D. No. 1206, Section 11(e).
54 R.A. No. 7638, Section 18.
55 R.A. No. 9257, Section 2. amending R.A. No. 7432, Section 4(k).
56 276 Phil. 127(1991).
57 Id. at 136.
58Nunal v. Commission on Audit, 251 Phil. 339, 344 (1989).
59Herrera, et al. v. NPC, et al, 623 Phil. 383, 398 (2009).
LEONEN, J.:
Sec. 39. Compensation and Other Emoluments for ERC Personnel. - The compensation and other emoluments for the Chairman and members of the Commission and the ERC personnel shall be exempted from the coverage of Republic Act No. 6758, otherwise known as the "Salary Standardization Act." For this purpose, the schedule of compensation of the ERC personnel, except for the initial salaries and compensation of the Chairman and members of the Commission, shall be submitted for approval by the President of the Philippines. The new schedule of compensation shall be implemented within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act and may be upgraded by the President of the Philippines as the need arises: Provided, That in no case shall the rate be upgraded more than once a year.
The Chairman and members of the Commission shall initially be entitled to the same salaries, allowances and benefits as those of the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, respectively. The Chairman and the members of the Commission shall, upon completion of their term or upon becoming eligible for retirement under existing laws, be entitled to the same retirement benefits and the privileges provided for the Presiding Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court, respectively. (Emphasis supplied)
Sec. 2-A. In case the salary of the Auditor General or the Chairman or any Member of the Commission on Elections is increased or decreased, such increased or decreased salary shall, for the purpose of this Act, be deemed to be the salary or the retirement pension which shall be received by the retired Auditor General or Chairman or "any Member of the Commission on Elections: Provided That any benefits that have already accrued prior to such increase or decrease shall not be affected thereby.
The separation of powers is a fundamental principle in our system of government. It obtains not through express provision but by actual division in our Constitution. Each department of the government has exclusive cognizance of matters within its jurisdiction, and is supreme within its own sphere. But it does not follow from the fact that the three powers are to be kept separate and distinct that the Constitution intended them to be absolutely unrestrained and independent of each other. The Constitution has provided for an elaborate system of checks and balances to secure coordination in the workings of the various departments of the government.
....
But in the main, the Constitution has blocked out with deft strokes and in bold lines, allotment of power to the executive, the legislative and the judicial departments of the government. The overlapping and interlacing of functions and duties between the several departments, however, sometimes makes it hard to say just where the one leaves off and the other begins. In times of social disquietude or political excitement, the great, landmarks of the Constitution are apt to be forgotten or marred, if not entirely obliterated. In cases of conflict, the judicial department is the only constitutional organ which can be called upon to determine the proper allocation of powers between the several departments and among the integral or constituent units thereof.27 (Emphasis supplied)
Endnotes:
1 Ponencia, p. 2.
2 Rep. Act No. 9136 (2001), sec. 38 provides:
Section 38. Creation of the Energy Regulatory Commission. - There is hereby created an independent, quasi-judicial regulatory body to be named the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC). For this purpose, the existing Energy Regulatory Board (ERB) created under Executive Order No. 172, as amended, is hereby abolished. (Emphasis supplied)
3 Ponencia, p. 2.
4 Exec. Order No. 172 (1987), sec. 1.
5 Rep. Act No. 1568 (1956), An Act to Provide Life Pension to the Auditor General and The Chairman or any Member of the Commission on Elections.
6 Rep. Act No. 3595 (1963), An Act to Amend Republic Act Numbered Fifteen Hundred Sixty-Eight (Re-grant of Life Pension to the Auditor-General and the Chairman and Members of the Commission on Elections).
7 Rep. Act No. 3595 (1963), sec, 2-A.
8 Ponencia, p. 12.
9 Rep. Act No. 9136 (2001).
10 Ponencia, p. 12.
11 Id. at 13-16.
12 Id. at 16-18.
13 Id. at 12.
14 Re: Application for Survivorship Pension Benefits Under Republic Act No. 9946 of Mrs. Pacita A. Gruba, Surviving Spouse of the late Manuel K. Gruba, former CTA Associate Judge, A.M. No. 14155- Ret, November 19, 2013
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2013/november2013/14155-Ret.pdf 4 [Per J. Leonen, En Banc].
15 Id.
16 Id., citing Profeta v. Drilon, G.R. No. 104139, December 22, 1992, 216 SCRA 777, 782-783 [Per J. Padilla, En Banc].
17 Id. at 4-5, citing Bengzon v. Drilon, G.R. No. 103254, April 15, 1992, 208 SCRA 133, 153 [Per J. Gutierrez, Jr., En BancJ.
18 Id. at 5.
19 Batas Blg. 129, sec. 42 provides:
SEC. 42. Longevity Pay. - A monthly longevity pay equivalent to five percent (5%) of the monthly basic pay shall be paid to the Justices and Judges of the courts herein created to each five years of continuous, efficient, and meritorious service rendered in the judiciary: Provided, That in no case shall the total salary of each Justice or Judge concerned, after this longevity pay is added, exceed the salary of the Justice or Judge next in rank.
See also Re: Letter of Court of Appeals Justice Vicente S.E. Veloso for Entitlement to Longevity Pay for His Services as Commission Member HI of the National Labor Relations Commission, A.M. Nos. 12-8-07-CA, June 16, 2015
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2015/june2015/12-8-07-CA.pdf [Per J.Brion, En Banc]. Chief Justice Sereno, Associate Justices Villarama, Jr., Mendoza, Reyes, and Perlas-Bernabe concurred. Senior Associate Justice Carpio, Associate Justices Velasco, Bersamin, Del Castillo, and Perez joined the Concurring and Dissenting Opinion of Associate Justice Leonardo-De Castro. Associate Justice Velasco wrote a Separate Opinion. Associate Justices Peralta and Leonen were on official leave. Associate Jardeleza took no part.
20 Rep. Act No. 910 (1953), An Act to Provide for the Retirement of Justices of the Supreme Court and of the Court of Appeals, for the Enforcement of the Provisions Hereof by the Government Service Insurance System, and to Repeal Commonwealth Act Numbered Five Hundred and Thirty-Six.
21 Rep. Act No. 9946 (2001), sec. 1.
22 Rep. Act No. 9946 (2010), An Act Granting Additional Retirement, Survivorship, and Other Benefits to Members of the Judiciary, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act No. 910, as amended, Providing Funds Therefor and For Other Purposes.
23 CONST., art. VI, sec. (1) provides:
SECTION 1. The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines....
CONST., art. VII, sec (1) provides:
SECTION 1. The executive power shall be vested in the President of the Philippines.
CONST., art. VIII sec (1) provides:
SECTION 1. The judicial power shall be vested in one Supreme Court and in such lower courts as may be established by law.
24See J. Leonen, Concurring Opinion in Belgica v. Ochoa, G.R. Nos. 208566, November 19, 2013, 710 SCRA 1, 290 [Per J. Perlas-Bemabe, En Banc]. See also J. Velasco, Dissenting Opinion in Province of North Cotabato v. Government of the Republic of the Philippines, 589 Phil. 387, 707 (2008) [Per J. Carpio Morales, En Banc].cralawred
25 See Planas v. Gil, 67 Phil. 62, 74 (1939) [Per J. Laurel, En Banc].
26 63 Phil. 139 (1936) [Per J. Laurel, En Banc].cralawred
27 Id. at 156-157.
28 Id. at 156.
29 CONST., art, VIII, sec. 3.
30 See Rep. Act No. 9946 (2010).
31 Rep. Act No. 9136 (2001), sec. 38.
32 Rep. Act No. 9136 (2001), sec. 43.